Saudi Arabia came from behind to overcome Argentina by a margin of two to one in a match that football pundits had predicted would be simple for Argentina.
Ten minutes into the first half, after Leandro Paredes was fouled, Lionel Messi easily converted a penalty to give his nation a well-deserved lead. In the 29th minute of the game, Lautaro Martinez would then have his goal disallowed by the video assistant referee.
Despite having 15 shots with 6 of them being on goal, Argentina only had a 69% possession rate to show for it. With the aid of his defense’s 27 clearances and 14 interceptions, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed AL-Owais, the goalkeeper, stopped five shots. With Paredes and Papu Gomez occupying the midfield, Argentina started with Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez leading the assault. Between the posts was Emiliano Martinez.
Paulo Dybala and Angel Correa were on the sidelines as Lionel Scaloni decided to deploy a 4-4-2 formation. Saudi Arabia scored its goals despite receiving five yellow cards, thanks to Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari.
Argentina is last in Group C as they wait for the later clash between Mexico and Poland, while Saudi Arabia is in the lead with three points.
Should Argentina fail to garner a point in their upcoming match against Mexico, they will face a difficult fray in their campaign. In other games today, France will play Australia, and Denmark will face Tunisia.
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